The news of the King of Chu donating his family fortune spread throughout the capital in less than half a day, and everyone was talking about it. Even Zhao Xiaonian was talking about it in his residence.
"This King of Chu is so kind-hearted. I've long heard that he's a good-natured and extremely kind person who often distributes porridge and repairs roads. Now it seems that's really true! He's even willing to donate his family fortune to disaster relief."
I heard there were many carriages parked outside the Prince's mansion, each one fully loaded with silver, medicine, clothing, and even grain. This person is truly generous.”
If he had that much silver, he wouldn't be willing to donate it all.
Song Er glanced at him and said irritably, "Just putting on an act."
Zhao Xiaonian immediately became dissatisfied, "Hey, are you out of your mind? Everyone in the capital says that the King of Chu has the world in his heart and is dedicated to the people. How come you're just putting on an act?"
"No matter what, he donated money, and as long as it can be used for disaster relief, his kindness is commendable."
Although he had never met the King of Chu, he heard the people of the capital speak highly of him, saying he had almost no flaws, so he naturally thought the king was a good person.
Song Er snorted coldly, "If he really wanted to help with disaster relief, he should have gone to the Lin family. Every year when there is a disaster in the Great Jin Dynasty, the imperial merchants would call for donations, but I haven't heard anyone mention who has donated over the years."
The Lin family, now imperial merchants, are gathering merchants and officials in the capital to donate silver.
I saw many people donate, but I didn't see anyone making a big fuss about it in the capital; they all just donated money quietly.
Those who truly care about the people would obviously not use this to boast about themselves, like Chief Minister Chen.
Everyone in the capital knows that the Grand Secretary lives a frugal life. Do you know why? Because he donates all of his salary to charitable organizations.
All of it was used for those orphaned children; I doubt anyone knows that.
Moreover, it's uncertain whether the King of Chu's silver will even reach the people of Qingnan.
He didn't believe that the King of Chu would really be willing to send the silver to Qingnan; who knew what kind of incredible secret it might be hiding.
If that person were truly a good person, there wouldn't have been the incident at the mine. Unfortunately, there's no evidence now, so we can't expose the true face of the King of Chu.
Zhao Xiaonian was taken aback, somewhat surprised. He didn't know who the Grand Secretary was, but if what Song Er said was true, it seemed that no one in the capital had ever mentioned the Grand Secretary donating silver to charity.
Seeing that he remained silent, Song Er continued, "What, do you think what I said makes sense?"
If he could tell the person in front of him about what happened in the mine, he would have made sure they knew who had caused him so much suffering in the mine.
If this person knew the truth, he would probably regret speaking up for the King of Chu today.
Zhao Xiaonian only snorted and did not answer, but instead asked, "Are imperial merchants subordinate to the imperial court?"
Since it was the imperial court that called for donations, there should have been quite a few people who responded.
As long as the money can be used for disaster relief, whether it's the King of Chu or anyone else, it's a good thing for the people of Qingnan.
Although he was not from Qingnan, his hometown had also experienced floods when he was a child, so he knew how terrible they were.
Just then, Jiang Yimian walked in from outside.
Zhao Xiaonian felt like he had found a savior and quickly said, "Sister Yimian, do you think it's worth praising the Prince of Chu for donating his entire fortune? That's the entire fortune of the Prince's mansion!"
He must have had good intentions to be willing to give it away. Besides, everyone in the capital praises him, which he certainly didn't expect.
But this news is sure to amaze people, and it's not a bad thing if everyone praises it.
Brother Song insists that the King of Chu is just putting on an act. What do you think?
He had heard a lot about the King of Chu these days and felt that the king was a gentle and refined hero who could fight on the battlefield and also maintain a kind heart and care for the people. Such a person deserved everyone's praise.
Jiang Yimian glanced at him without saying anything, but she understood somewhat why the King of Chu was so difficult to deal with.
Everyone thought he was a kind person. If someone with ulterior motives were to stir up trouble, and if the Emperor did not handle the Qingnan matter well, or if something went wrong, the Prince of Chu would only gain more popular support.
At that time, even if the King of Chu rebelled, no one would say that his cause was illegitimate. They might even support him and look forward to him ascending the throne and bringing benefits to the people.
No wonder the Emperor is now at a loss as to how to deal with the Prince of Chu.
Taking rash action would only backfire and incite public resentment; this matter cannot be rushed.
If she were in that situation, she would probably have a headache too.
This Qingnan incident is an opportunity not only for the King of Chu, but also for the woman in the palace.
Although she didn't know what the relationship was between Lu Cijian and the person in the palace, since the other party was going to help the emperor, she would naturally stand by Lu Cijian's side.
*
As night fell, the convoy, thousands of miles from the capital, still did not stop, continuing its journey through the night, seemingly just as the people of the capital had said, in order to reach Qingnan for disaster relief as soon as possible.
Zhao Cheng rode his horse alongside the wagons loaded with grain and various supplies, keeping an eye on the surrounding environment.
His mission would be essentially complete once the goods arrived at Qingnan smoothly.
Then, they can have their own people deliver the supplies to the King of Chu's residence in the Qingnan area. No one will know that the King of Chu's money was not used for disaster relief.
Everyone would think that the King of Chu had the world at heart and donated his entire royal fortune to provide disaster relief.
When the truth about Qingnan is revealed, Xie Jingxuan's reign as emperor will be in jeopardy.
With Wei Jinghai and his deputy general dead, no one could stop the King of Chu from ascending the throne.
Thinking of that day, a smile appeared on his lips, which seemed somewhat eerie in the dark night.
The convoy happened to pass through a dark, dense forest.
Zhao Cheng instantly became alert and used the torch to keep an eye on his surroundings.
The dense forest beside them was pitch black, with its thick foliage concealing everything within.
The only sounds were the occasional chirping of birds and insects, and the sounds of horses' hooves and wheels rolling over the road, which were especially noticeable in the night.
A gentle breeze blew, and the branches rustled loudly, causing the flames on the torches to flicker violently.
Zhao Cheng frowned as he stared at the surrounding trees and said coldly, "Be on guard."
Upon hearing this, the man, who had been somewhat listless, instantly sobered up, gripping the sword at his waist and watching his surroundings warily.
Just as the group was about to pass through the dense forest and head towards the open area, they suddenly heard several whooshing sounds.
Arrows shot from the dense forest toward the group.
Zhao Cheng quickly raised his long sword at his waist to defend himself and cut off the incoming arrows.
Even after the dense rain of arrows had all been cut down, no one emerged from the dense forest.
Zhao Cheng frowned, wondering what was going on, when he suddenly smelled a faint fragrance in the air. He immediately shouted, "The arrows are poisoned! Cover your noses!"
Everyone was startled and quickly covered their mouths and noses, gripping their swords tightly as they looked into the dense forest.
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